Gators Head Coach Jim McElwain has given a Large Cloud the game ball from Florida’s victorious game against Vanderbilt this Saturday. McElwain said the Cloud’s work during the sweltering noon game was “unparalleled” to anything the other Gators did.
The Large Cloud joined the Gator Football team as a float-on player earlier this season. Due to the weather and time of the games so far this year, Large Cloud has not yet seen any playtime. That all changed Saturday.
Despite being November, UF’s homecoming game was a sweltering 90° and sunny. The stands had fans sweating profusely, and this game held the record for most cases of heat-related injuries, including heat exhaustion and dehydration. Some reports stated that fans were “literally melting into puddles”.
“It was hot as hell, but then, oh my god, this huge like cloud came over and blocked the sun,”
said Brandon Hartford, a 4th year student who was sitting with his fraternity,
Finally I didn’t feel like a lobster being boiled alive.”
Approximately three and a half minutes into the third quarter, when the Gators were down by one point and the crowd was growing weary, Coach McElwain looked over to Large Cloud. Without skipping a beat, Large Cloud moved over the stadium, creating a cooling shadow for the entire stands. A simultaneous breathe of relief was sighed throughout the Swamp.
With the help of Large Cloud, the Gators and the Gator Nation were revitalized. A field goal in the fourth quarter allowed the boys to end Homecoming victorious over Vanderbilt.
Coach McElwain awarded the game ball, which he signed as well, to the Large Cloud in a small ceremony after the post-game press conference. McElwain said that he’d “never seen such good work out on the field before.”